Game



C. F. WAITE GAME V W, AH MW) l,

,. Filed Feb. 24 1923 Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

v UNITED STATES CHARLES E. WAITE, on CA BRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR on ONE-HALF r0 DAVID A. BARBER, 0F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

v GAME.

Application filed February 24, 1923. Serial No. 621,060.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. WArrn, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Games, of which the fol:

lowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts. I

This invention relates to a game and more particularly to a portable bowling game.

The invention has for its object to provide a novel bowling game which may be manufactured economically and which in addition affords the player of the game satisfaction and enjoyment as well as the opportunity to display accuracy and skill exactly as in the ordinary bowling of candle pins, bottle pins or the like.

The particular features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification. I

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a plan of a bowling game embodying the pres ent invention; Fig. 2 a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a detail of the movable member of the toy man; Fig. 4;, a section on line 44, of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5, a front elevation of the hand portion of the movable arm.

Referring to the drawing, wherein for purposes of illustration, the invention is represented as embcdied in a bowling game, 10 represents a portable bowling alley which may and preferably will be of a convenient size such as to permit it to be placed upon a household table or other convenientsupporting surface. The-portable bowling alley 10 is provided with a central bowling surface 12 preferably slightly raised above side passages or gutters 13." The bowling pins 14 comprising miniature candle pins,bottle pins or the like, are arranged to be set up at one end of the alley in the usual triangular formation, as represented in Figs. 1 and 2.

The bowling alley 10 has mounted thereon a toy man 16 for rolling the bowling ball down the bowling alley. The man 16 is preferably constructed of iron and provided with a substantial base 17 for imparting stability thereto. The base 17 may and preferably will be received in a groove or slideway 18 formed transversely across'and at the head of the bowling surface 12 to permit the man to be manually moved back and forth across the alley by the player of the game. The man 16 is provided with a movable member capable of engaging and hold-- ing. a miniature bowling ball and which preferably comprises a pivoted right arm 20 provided at its lower end with jaws 22, 24:,one of which 22 is movable. As herein shown the jaw 22 is pivoted upon the arm 20 and is provided with a lug 25 which is acted upon by a coiled spring 26 interposed between the lug and the arm 20 and the end of which is preferably received in a hole 27 in the arm 20. The jaw 22 is therefore normally forced by the spring toward the jaw 24 and both jaws 22 and 24- are curved toward each other as illustrated in detail in Figs. 3 and 4 so as to engage and hold a bowling ball 28 interposed between the jaws.

upon by a spring 30 which is coiled about the pivot 32 by which the arm is pivotally secured to the body of the man, one end of the spring being received in a hole in the body of the man and the other end in a hole in the arm 20. With this construction the player of the game may swing the arm 20 rearwardly and upwardly thus placing the coiled spring 30 under tension and when released the arm 20 is swung downward by the spring at a rapid rate.

Provision is made for releasing the bowling ball from between the jaws 22 and 24 during the rapid downward movement 01. the arm 20 and as herein shown the left arm 29 of the toy man is arranged to terminate in a position in the path of the lug 25 upon the upper jaw 22 to be engaged thereby. lVhen therefore the arm 20 and the jaws 22, 24, carrying the bowling ball are permitted tomove rapidly downward, the end of the left arm 29 engages the lug 25 and swings the movable jaw 22 upwardly bringing the arm 20 to rest and permitting the bowling ball 28 to be projected down the bowling alley by the momentum which it has acquired during the descent of the arm. The bowing ball rolling rapidly down the alley strikes the bowling pins, knocking down varying numbers thereof corresponding to the skill with which the ball is aimed by the player. That is to say considerable skill is required in causing the bowling ball to roll down the alley and to strike the bowling pins at the right point to secure the desired pin fal In the event that only a portion of the pins be knocked down, the player may again position the ball between the jaws 22, 24, and moving the man laterally through the groove or slideway 1S aim to attempt to knock down the remaining pins in the usual three 'i111"1S exactly as in the ordinary bowling.

The bowling pins are retained within the end of the bowling alley by a head board 40 which is herein shown as removably secured in position at the end of the alley by the cross bar 4L2.

The bowling surface 12 is supported upon a suitable base 50 provided with upright sides 51 and ends 52.

It will be observed that the base portion 17 of the toy man is of a width slightly less than the groove 18 and that the corners 38 of the base are rounded. This construction enables the player to grasp the man with the left hand and to oscillate it with respec to the bowling alley so that the ball may be caused to t"avel down the alley at difi'erent degrees of angularity.

In this way cross alley shots may be secured. The rounded corners enable a secure bearing to be secured with the sides of the groove 18. In addition, it is possible to curve the bowling ball in a manner analogous to the curved bowling balls of the ordinary bowing. This is accomplished with the construction herein shown by positioning the ball to one side or the other of the center of the jaws 22, 24, which are made of substantially the same width and materially wider than the diameter of the ball, such position being illustrated in Fig. 5. The toy man is made with its body portion bent at the hips and extended forward sub-- stantially in a horizontal plane, so that when the toy man is placed in the transverse groove 18 in the alley, the substantially horizontal body portion co-operates with said groove to permit the swinging arm 20 to be made relatively short and yet have the lower jaw 24 brought into close proximity to the upper surface of the alley, whereby the ball may be discharged from the jaws and projected upon the surface thereof with a. sweeping motion, which approximates the action of the arm of a person in bowling, and which also avoids injury to the upper surface of the alley by the ball being projected down thereon at a relatively sharp angle.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A. toy man having an arm movable in a substantially vertical plane and a stationary arm extended in a substantially horizontal plane toward the movable arm, said movable arm having a hand portion comprising two jaws for grasping a ball, one of said jaws being movable and co-operating with said stationary arm to strike the latter on the forward movement of the movable arm and release the ball.

2. A bowling game comprising a portable bowling alley having a tranverse groove in one end thereof, a toy man detached-from said alley and provided with a base capable of being received in said groove and having a substantially horizontallly extended body portion provided with a pivoted arm having its hand portion extended into close proximity to the surface of the alley and provided with jaws separated to receive a ball and both of a width materially greater than the diameter of the ball to permit the ball to occupy different positions in the hand, a spring to swing the arm forward, and means co-operating with one of said jaws to release the ball and to project the latter upon the alley.

A toy man having a movable arm provided with a hand portion. comprising two relatively movable jaws capable of releas-' ably retaining a ball therein and both of a width materially greater than the diameter of said ball, and means mounted upon the man co-operating with one of the jaws for releasing the ball at a definite point in the movements of the arm.

4. A toy man having its body portion bent at the hips and extended forward in a substantially horizontal plane, and provided with a relatively short arm pivoted thereto and having a hand portion comprising jaws separated to receive a bowling ball and both of which are of materially greater width than the diameter of said ball to permit the latter to occupy different posit-ions in the said hand, one of said jaws being movable with relation to the other.

In testimony whereof, I have signed, my name to this specification.

CHARLES F. WAITE. 

